The Results Of The Initial Investigation Of The Fall Of The Azerbaijan Airlines Aircraft Planned To Be Released In 30 Days

JAKARTA - The Kazakh Government Commission investigating the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash will release preliminary findings within 30 days, Kazakh Transport Minister Talgat Lastayev said.

"In general, the standard requires preliminary or temporary results from an investigation to be announced within 30 days," he said in an interview with the Kazinform news agency.

"What is currently underway is the field investigation stage, which means (collecting) aircraft debris, prints at the crash site, taking prints, and all of this was taken to a special hangar at Aktau airport," said the official, who is a member of the investigation commission.

"And all of this is being evaluated thoroughly by experts," he said.

Earlier, the Kazakh Transport Ministry announced it had sent flight recorders from the plane to the Aviation Accident Investigation and Prevention Center in Brazil.

It is known that the Embraer 190 plane belonging to the airline Azerbaijan Airlines which flew from Baku to Grozny crashed near Aktau City, Kazakhstan, on December 25. The plane carried 67 people, consisting of 62 passengers and five crew members. They are mostly citizens of Azerbaijan, as well as citizens of Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. According to the latest data, 38 people, including seven Russian nationals, were killed, while 29 others survived. Nine Russians who survived were taken to hospital in Russia.

The plane is said to have crashed after turning from southern Russia, where Moscow has repeatedly used its air defense system against Ukrainian drone attacks.

The plane turned hundreds of miles across the Kaspia Sea, before crashing on the coast across the Kaspia Sea after what Russian aviation watchdogs said was an emergency that may have been caused by a bird strike.

Earlier, sources familiar with the results of the preliminary investigation said the Russian air defense system was behind the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said the plane was shot by accident and had experienced electronic interference.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's Presidential Office said pilots had struggled to control the plane - trying desperately to find a landing site.

With a hole in the fuselage, several crew members injured, passengers praying for their safety in a low-pressure cabin, and the plane spinning out of control, the pilot flying across the Kaspia Sea for an emergency landing.